Og Mandino was in school in the United States when his mother told him that one day he would become a great writer. He liked her confidence and made it his dream. But as soon as he graduated from school, she died. Family circumstances forced him to work in a paper factory. He did various odd jobs and was struggling with rising debt even after ten years of working.
One day while returning from work, he saw a handgun for sale in a shop window which was for just $29. He pulled out three ten dollar bills from his pocket. It was all that he had. He thought he could buy the gun, go home, put a bullet in it, put it on his temple and pull the trigger. It would have ended his reality of having looking into the mirror and feel that he was a failure.
Og Mandino did not buy the gun. Instead, he strayed into a library. There he saw many books on success and motivation. He picked on them and read them hoping to find some answers. As his attitude became positive, he found he could control his alcoholism.
He got a salesman job but kept thinking of his dream of being a writer. He hired a typewriter and wrote a sales manual. It got published. Then he became the editor of a house journal which had a staff of two. He worked hard to make it a national magazine and soon had a staff of 62. It grew to have a circulation of a quarter million.As there was one article short before the magazine went in for publication on one particular issue, Og Mandino sat up all night and wrote a piece on the determination of golfer Ben Hogan who was told that he would never be able to walk properly. Ben Hogan ended up winning the National Open and was hailed as one of the greatest golfers in the world.
Soon after the article got published, a publisher wrote to Og Mandino saying that he liked his writing and would love to publish him if he ever wrote a book! Og Mandino was waiting for such an opportunity. Eighteen months later, he had a manuscript ready called, “The Greatest Salesman in the World.” Only 5,000 copies were printed. But as sales rose, it was reprinted numerous times. Three decades have passed since and it is still a runaway best seller. Never lose hope. Miracles only happen as some of us have the courage to dream.
Article by— Ramesh Menon For DNA